Without A Sound
by Mable
Summary: The Stitchpunks find a lone Cultivator living alone in his greenhouse whose working to replenish the world in greenery. However, there is something amiss with the male, and they must face a new sort of challenge with him.
1. Prologue: Hanging Gardens

_**Without A Sound**_

_Prologue_

_There was something about plants. Something about the radiant beauty of a well-managed garden. About the way that they whispered to him. _

As he walked down the stretch of dirt lining paths along the bottom of the greenhouse, looking over the bountiful growth coming from the end of an especially sunny summer he felt complete. They hung elegantly over him like a lush forest and his fingers traced along one of the dangling leaves. Concave fingers danced across the fauna, brass and relaxing from their almost constant job of digging into the earth, whether it be digging a new hole for seeds or for gathering dirt to bring into the greenhouse.

_It seemed that there was always something that needed to be done in here, but that gave him something to live for._

His dark tan canvas had been stained from this. Grass stains, dirt stains, even with washing nightly he couldn't keep the remnants of his labor off of his fabric. Yet it was somewhat soothing as well. Constantly enwrapped in the smell of the earth and the smell of fresh life. Sometimes he stared outside the greenhouse and would remember why he was so lucky. A single building filled with plants in the midst of a barren land that had been destroyed. Yet he seldom troubled himself with this unless it was to scout for Beasts before going out to gather collected water.

_He didn't particularly enjoy going out there unless he needed to. There wasn't anything out there like there was in here._

Yet he had already spent all day watering and tending to the garden and now spent the rest looking as his harvest. Bright flowers, luscious vegetables, things that he grew just so they could grow. They had no need in life other than to live. He was almost running out of room and wondered if he would have to use the upper shelves to start housing more. It was difficult to get there and he expected carrying dirt there would be just as difficult. Yet he wanted to expand his indoor forest and this seemed like the best solution to do so.

_If he couldn't go outwards, he would just go upwards, and stretch into the sky._

He fixed his long, patched scarf that was wrapped twice around his neck and hung down nearly to his hips. It was patched in numerous places, a deep green with striking brown and tan patches of the wrong fabric. It covered the snaps on his front and kept dirt off of them somewhat. He also wore an equally patched jacket. Other than that he only held a wide brimmed hat upon his head that kept the sun off. He enjoyed the sun immensely, but when it got into his eyes it became a hassle. It was made of leather and a bit more floppy then one would want, but it did well enough.

_He worked very hard to be as efficient as possible. He didn't have time to waste; the plants wouldn't wait on their Cultivator. _

He physically was very tall and very thin, his legs long and his torso narrow, with long, slender hands. Every part of him was gaunt and he loomed like a waif. He wasn't sure why he was created to be like this and, honestly, it made work somewhat difficult when involving carrying heavy things, but the height also assisted with harvesting and tending plants. He still would harvest from the plants and found the season of such oddly strenuous. Slicing open the produce with his thin scythe and gathering the seeds before sealing the rest into jars.

_It was almost as though he was created to do this, yet who would create something made only to create?_

The nearby shed was full of mason jars, or had been, and now they steadily ran out. The obsession to grow and create was one of joy and fulfillment. The one to package and seal food that he would never need wasn't the same. It was unrecognizable. Yet he obeyed and continued to work. It was a simple life, but he was happy with it. He never felt alone. Then again, he knew he wasn't alone out here, he knew there were others. One day as he was out gathering small stones and dirt, looking for more fertile soil that he carried in a small woven basket on his back.

_He always seemed to have an excuse to work these days and here was another job needed doing._

He had his scythe then too; a long, crooked piece of wood with a sharp blade jutting out of the tip, more practical for harvesting than for attacking the Beasts outside. Either way, he had merely been wandering around when they had appeared out of nowhere. He had to quickly hide so he wasn't seen, but it was not too difficult. They weren't paying much attention. One was slightly taller than he was and largely built, lots of strength and muscle. The other was shorter and had sharply slanted optics.

_This was the first time that he had seen others. He didn't wonder why they looked different, he just wondered why they were out there._

He wasn't scared of them; on the contrary it was quite relieving to see others, but he felt unable to approach. The shorter looked upset at something and his mouth moved as though he was speaking, ranting about something, and looked disturbed. Though he knew he couldn't very well introduce himself and instead went on his way. He was, after all, virtually mute after everything. They had appeared too suddenly for him to be expected to introduce himself to a couple of strangers.

_He hadn't heard them appear. _

Other than the whispering of the plants as they brushed along his fabric. Danger was a hassle in these times as the Beasts appeared so suddenly and would come upon him without a single groan. Yet he knew their weak spot, he watched their movements, and he learned. It was still too dangerous not to watch his back. He couldn't remember exactly how it had happened. Maybe it was when a mine had gone off too close, but the shrapnel had only damaged his leg a little and that just needed an adequate patch. It was right around that time that everything failed.

_His world was dead silent._

His other senses had grown in retrospect; he actually learned about tasting and when he had a bountiful harvest he would suckle upon the sweet fruits of his labor and gratify in the taste. After all, these were his plants and they loved him, and he loved them. They lived and breathed when nothing else did and leaving was out of the question. He couldn't leave them; they needed him too much to feel justified in abandoning them. Especially to abandon them to the cold world outside of bland colors and dead roots.

_Maybe that was why he took refuge in the quiet life of greenery._

As he caressed over one of the leaves of a healthy tomato plant, counting the green bulbs and guessing how many seeds would be produced, he knew that even with this barren world he was content. He had created his own garden and to him not even Babylon itself had a garden as lush and beautiful as his own. So he would live content in his greenhouse and content with the silence that was only interrupted by the whisper of the plants for as long as he pleased.

_But even the Hanging Gardens fell_.

_**Without a sound.**_


	2. Chapter 1: First Sight

**Mable: Here is the first chapter of my new Fanfiction, 'Without a Sound!'. I have little to say now so without further ado here is the first chapter! I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>Without A Sound<strong>_

_Chapter One: First Sight_

"There was definitely someone out there." Eight usually didn't feel the need to give his opinion as One was always there supplying his own, but the guard was adamant about what he saw. Earlier today he went over to the burnt down Cathedral with One, Two, Nine, Five, and Six to retrieve anything leftover. By the afternoon the others had left; One, Five, and Nine carrying One's singed remains of a throne, Two following with some collected scraps, and Six being dismissed by the guard to 'go on ahead'. This left the biggest Stitchpunk alone with the cauldron that he was instructed to somehow get over to the Library.

Halfway through deciding to roll it he caught a glimpse of a Stitchpunk nearby scooping some of the ash and putting it into a basket on its back. "I'm not imagining it and I wasn't- I didn't have my good magnet." He insisted to the group who were partially surprised and partially skeptical of the entire event. "It took some of the ash, put it in its pack, and then left." One, sitting on the burned throne, now spoke, "And why did you just watch it leave? If there is another would it not have seemed wise to bring it back?"

"I called out to him." Eight insisted, "But it just ignored me and walked off. By time I got that thing off of my back," He thumbed back to the cauldron, "it took off." The others stared silently and thought amongst themselves quietly. One made a low hum of thought before announcing, "We can't very well leave someone out there alone." Two's brows raised in surprise, "My, One, you are certainly concerned. This is a nice change for you." Seven interrupted with a quick, "It's more of a control feeling than a concerned one."

One gave a quick glare at her before correcting, "It _is _concern. One of our own may be out there. That is, if he is really there." He gave Eight a quick look and the Guard insisted, "Boss, I swear I saw it." He lowered his voice and turned so that the others wouldn't hear, "I don't see things with the magnet. Not like this." Because of this One hummed in understanding and looked over towards the others, "I believe Eight." As though giving his final judgment on the situation, "Which means that there is someone out there living alone in the Emptiness."

Now Seven spoke, "While I'm not going to say that I agree with some of your beliefs, you do have a point." Seven insisted, "We should at least approach them with the offering of a shelter if they don't have one." Now Nine spoke with a small realization, "If he just awoke he might not even know that we exist!" He insisted and the others agreed. It had been a while since they had approached the arrival of another Stitchpunk and even that event brought its own challenges along. "So which of us should go welcome him?" Two asked warmly only to receive stares from the others.

Even though Two had headed over to the burned down Cathedral he still had a clear indication of how hard the Fabrication Machine Incident had taken a toll on him. He had only just shed a pair of crutches and while they didn't last it didn't seem logical for Two to be the one to go out. "Two, I don't know…" Five excused gently and the Inventor waved him off, "I understand. I'm not exactly in the state to go looking." Yet for a second he looked saddened and Five excused, "No, no! I mean- we will bring him here because… Because he might need you to help heal him!"

The Inventor knew his apprentice was sparing his feelings, but did perk considerably. "Yes, yes, of course." However, everyone was a tad silent for a moment before One cleared his voice box, "We will leave as soon as possible. The weather plans on turning and there's no time to spare." Nine agreed, taking One's suggestion to heart before turning to Five and beckoning him into the back to grab their things while the others prepared Thankfully Five had retrieved his harpoon after the Incident so they still had a working weapon. Nine merely had a letter opener that he used as a walking stick.

As he briefly lamented the loss of his Lightstaff, Five asked hopefully, "Do you really think there's someone out there?" Nine was confident but confused, "Of course. Why wouldn't there be." To which Five explained, "It wouldn't be the first time that that we had miss-sighting." He promptly shrugged his own words off, "I don't know, maybe that doesn't count anymore since we found you." Nine could only dryly chuckle and add in, "Let's hope it goes better than that time." There was a small pause and Nine could feel Five's gaze on the back of his neck.

"You don't mean that, do you?" Five asked quietly and Nine didn't respond, "Nine, nobody blames you for what happened." He murmured and approached before gently grabbing the other's shoulder with his warm hand. "It just happened. That's all." Nine clearly didn't believe this, but felt slightly better. "I know, Five, it's just… I don't know, seeing Two shot down was sort of hard to bear." Five nodded in agreement, "Believe me, it is, but Two knows he's not ready. He's just being optimistic. Besides, I rather be the one to tell him than One."

As he went back to fixing his harpoon Nine felt a chuckle growing inside; it was widely known that One was unfortunately unskilled in handling the even basic emotions. Though Nine did feel remotely better, even if he doubted that it would remain for too long. Either way, he and Five soon entered the makeshift throne room in the Library once again. The others were nearly fully ready to leave. Eight had his knife, Seven had her spear, One had a somewhat decorated stick that he was slowly transforming into a new staff, and even Six and the twins were preparing to come.

This mean that Two would be home alone and Five asked Two if he would be alright again. "Of course I will." The older male reassured his apprentice, "I may just read a bit while you're all gone. Don't worry about me." Five seemed unsure, "But Two…" Nine now defended the older with an amused smile, "Five, I'm starting to think you'll be the one who won't be alright if Two's gone." The Healer smiled at this comment and admitted a somewhat meek, "Maybe." Two seemed to have surprisingly recovered from the disappointment and watched as the others prepared to leave further.

It wasn't much longer until One tapped the ground with his staff proudly, "Alright. Let's leave." He was enjoying the ability to be leader again and taking full advantage. Though nobody minded as the commands he recently took to giving were obvious ones, such as the current one of leaving, so they gave him leeway. The group exited the Library and headed out through the Emptiness before One turned on Eight, "Now then, where was this alleged Stitchpunk?" He spoke as though he didn't believe Eight at all, but most of the others were quite confident in Eight's ability to spot someone.

He was a good guard and was trustworthy, especially when it came to One, so when he started off in a specific direction they followed. "I know it went that way." So began a long and tedious trek through the Emptiness. Eight wasn't too certain where the Stitchpunk went in its direction, but thankfully Five had managed to bring his map, the only one that survived the fire and battle with the Machine. There were a few minor landmarks in the area, but he found one that he believed stood out the most. Against the edge of the wall that surrounded the city was a set of barracks that had been under construction during the War.

It didn't seem very important ever before, but it was currently their only lead at the moment. Though they actually didn't make it to the barracks as they had planned to. Instead, part of the way there, they were caught by something else. Six was actually the one to notice it and quietly fell behind, staring across the Emptiness towards the thing that caught his optics. The others almost walked off without him until Five noticed, "Six?" He asked back to the striped Stitchpunk, "What's wrong? Are you getting that feeling again?"

It was common that Six would get his feelings which would warn him if something was nearby. However, this wasn't the case, and he stared at a nearby building in interest before pointing it out, "Look!" He exclaimed, "Look- it's plants! They're alive!" While recent sleep was beginning to assist Six in speaking better, his voice was still unsure and stuttering as he pointed out the splash of color. Five looked over and was surprised when he saw it as well. "Wait!" He called back to the others, "Come take a look at this! This is-!"

There in the Emptiness nearby was a glass building filled with nothing but fauna. Living and lush, beautiful fauna, somehow alive even in the barren world. It was surrounded by nothing but dried rubble so it was surprising to randomly see so much greenery in one place. "What…?" One asked in his own confusion, "What is that?" It was a good thing that the twins were with them because they knew, insisting on Five to hold the map backwards so that they could use their optics to flicker an image onto it. Soon appeared a small description from what looked like a dictionary or something.

It stated, "Greenhouses are used to raise plants regardless of the weather. This is especially important in colder climates where crops cannot grow." They let the others read briefly, Three holding her sister as she showed the brief picture before letting it disappear, making a clicking noise as her optics turned off. The others, meanwhile, stared out at the greenhouse in disbelief. "But how did it grow?" Five asked the others before looking at his map, turning it over, "We've had to have been before, and we've never seen it?!"

"This has not been like this since the war." One insisted, suspicious, "This is a relatively new addition, perhaps in the last year or so, there's no possible way it could have been here any longer." Seven actually agreed, "I've been out here before some time ago and I never noticed this." Now Nine looked to Six, who had noticed it, and asked him as though checking to make sure he didn't have any feelings once again, "What do you think, Six?" The Artist looked to him, then his mismatched optics shot to the others and he looked down, becoming actually nervous.

The sleep was a mixed blessing; Six regained proper speech only to lose it again to his own form of shyness. "Don't know…" He answered as he clutched his key, "But… But the Stitchpunk- if it's the other Stitchpunk- it could be the other Stitchpunk." He insisted and the others seemed to agree. Nine looked to the others, "Six is right. We need to check it out and see if it's in there." It made sense to the others and the group started to head down the sloped incline towards the glass building in the distance.

As they began to approach the greenhouse they were surprised to see more of the lusciousness inside through the glass walls. There were so many trees, plants, and vines inside the walls of the greenhouse. Some were topped with colorful flowers while other were topped with bright spheres or oblong items, which most of them, other than Nine, guessed that they were fruits and vegetables. It was amazing. "Look at this!" Nine cried out, a wide smile overtaking his face as he was taken by the amazing sight.

As the world had already been desolated by time he was born he hadn't even seen anything more than scraggly grass that had struggled to grow after the world's demise. So anything bigger than that was unknown. The others had seen more foliage, but even they were taken aback. "This is amazing." Seven gasped to herself as she looked at everything that she could from their current angle, "We need to find some way inside." Eight stepped forward, "I'll do it." He pulled back his knife and he prepared to smack the glass.

Before he could the twins leapt before him, hands out in pleading and refusing to budge. He furrowed his brows and now One spoke, "Eight, this is used as a barrier to protect the plants. If you break even one panes of glass it could contaminate the entire lot." Though even if he knew this it was sort of confusing why he hadn't been the one to stop Eight; perhaps he hadn't thought as quickly as the twins. Eight listened to the Leader and put his knife back on his back, "Yeah? Then how are we getting in?" He asked, casually crossing his arms, having been so used to just walking or breaking into old buildings.

"We'll find a way." Nine insisted, "Maybe Five, Six, and Seven can come with me and we'll k around this way while you go that way and we'll see if there's a door of something." This seemed like a good enough idea and they began to search. Six rushed ahead, running along the wall of glass and looking for a way inside, with Five quickening his pace to follow. "Don't go off too far! Six?" He called after the Artist while Seven and Nine watched with amused looks. "I don't blame him for being so excited."

The Warrior pointed out with surprising eagerness in her voice, "To think something like this exists is almost unbelievable." Nine looked in at the plants at this and leaned over, cupping his optics against the glass to block out the glint of the sun. A curtain of ivy hung nearby but through it he could see a patch of small plants with feathery leaves, hanging with a couple of small, crimson fruits. "Was it like this before the war? This many growing on the streets and through the warzone?" He asked curiously and she briefly looked discouraged, "I'd hope so… But I don't think so. I think the humans cleared them in the city."

This was understandable and didn't even for a second drop Nine's excitement. Though he did add it, "It seems strange that this would grow by itself." Suddenly they were interrupted, "It didn't." It was odd how One seemed to just appear behind them. Nine almost jumped a little as he looked back at the Leader, "I… I thought that you were going to look with Eight and the twins." The Leader discarded the suggestion, "They can handle themselves."

Now Nine suspected that One was coming just to spite him, but that was fine as the Leader wasn't acting outwardly aggressive, "Indeed fauna grows naturally, but not in our environment. It would need constant maintenance from a team of Stitchpunks. What Eight may have seen before was a scout and what could be inside may be more than a few that resemble us." Seven seemed skeptical, "Other Stitchpunks? One, I'm willing to believe one got stranded, but I doubt the Scientist could have created more than that without us knowing."

One looked to her as though he had all confidence in the world, "You are correct. The Scientist could not have created many more… Which would mean that they would only resemble us." There was his suspicion, but Seven actually seemed to agree. He had a point, but Nine was a little less so, "Well then maybe he taught someone else how to make them? It could have been possible. He could have had an apprentice." One was about to disagree when suddenly Five's voice called back, "Guys, there's a hatch over here that we can open and get in!"

Seven abruptly sprinted off after them, leaving Nine and One to stand there briefly before Nine suggested, "I'll go get Eight and the twins." The Leader nodded in agreement and the zippered male sprinted off, ready to find the others and get inside the makeshift jungle.

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><p>As the crutch was dropped against the wall and Two took his first steps without it he knew this would be a difficult journey. His legs were still weak and hadn't yet regained their responsiveness from before. Yet he was desperate to follow with the others. If he lagged behind, following their trail and eventually meeting at a later point, they couldn't very well escort him home and couldn't very well say he wasn't able to go. It was a childish idea, Two knew it, but he couldn't stand the prospect of being left behind.<p>

He stocked well, taking a new candle cap that he had made, a bundle of matches, and a lance with him. Though as he stepped into the courtyard he realized that he was relying on the lance to walk a bit too much. His mind scolded at him that this was a mistake, but he kept going. He just couldn't stand the thought of being an invalid and this seemed like the quickest way to get back on his feet again. So he forced himself to continue walking out into the random Emptiness, following freshly formed footsteps in the recently rained on dirt.

Two only got about as far down the street that he could no longer see the Library, because it was now obscured by a destroyed mess of a building, and he started to get a strange feeling. As he drug himself along he could hear some repetitious taps and movements amongst the buildings around him. Almost as though something was following him. He peered over his shoulder more than once to catch the strange being, but unfortunately he seemed to either be too slow or the being was too fast.

He made his way around a broken streetlamp when he heard an echoing noise through the streets and froze. If he didn't know better he would have sworn that it sounded like a beast, but he had thought all of the Beasts dissipated after the war. After all, they hadn't spotted one in so long that it only made sense. He held his lance close as he looked around the barren landscape surrounding him. It was only then that he tilted his head somewhat upwards and immediately gasped as he saw that he wasn't alone.

On a nearby wall there was something slinking along the concrete. Its body was oddly shaped and segmented into two almost oval parts that were attached. In the back segment there was a small crack that was leaking a dark substance that looked like a type of poison or oil. What was really strange were its legs. It had six, four small ones on the front segment and two large ones on the back segment which went bent oddly and contorted around as the creature walked. On its back was what resembled a pair of bellows like the Chancellor Drone would have.

Instead, though, they were aimed like weapons and were connected to the back segment by tubes. It wasn't a very big Beast, perhaps only half of the size of a Cat Beast, but for someone like Two who was struggling to walk as it was. He continued attempt to move along and get away before it noticed him. However, it must have heard him before he could get away, and suddenly he heard it land behind him. A spring system in its leg had activated and it had jumped so far that it had nearly flew.

Two looked back and gasped before looking around. His optics landed on a car nearby with a cracked window and he began to run towards it. Thankfully this Beast, this Locust Beast, wasn't exactly agile. It had two kinds of movement; sluggish scurrying and hopping. This was somewhat good for Two to stumble over to the window and slip inside the car. The Locust Beast jumped towards the car, slamming into the side of it and leaving a decent dent in the side. Two climbed along the roof which was now the floor as the Locust peered inside.

While not nearly as aggressive as a Cat Beast, it was strikingly clever, and leaned down before activating its bellows. Suddenly a thick smog filled the car. Even though the liquid had looked dark black or purple, as it turned into a mist it began to take a strange lavender tint. Two started to head to the other side of the car, but the mixture caught him off guard and he struggled to hold his breath. There was no saying what this mixture would do and he had to get free. Running to the windshield he tried to break open a small crack so that he could slip through.

Then he accidently inhaled the gas and to his surprise he felt nothing. It was as though all of the air was gone. His body choked at the smothering feeling and he attacked the glass with his lance once again. A shove, a strike, watching as the glass finally cracked open. The small inventor wedged himself through and promptly collapsed on the dirt outside. He sputtered and attempted to breathe, but the gas was spilling out too, and he started to drag himself away. His legs suddenly seemed to give out and he finally was able to get wisps of air.

That's when he heard something heavy land on the car; the Locust was hopping yet again and soon landed nearby roughly. It crashed to the ground and recovered immediately as Two rolled onto his back, skidding backwards. "_Work!" _He mentally scolded his legs which seemed to suddenly grow very weak and refused to move. He looked desperately at the Locust Beast and saw two large optics covered in cracks staring back. It was closing in quickly and Two mentally swore again, _"I am a fool!"_

Yet right at this moment something came out of nowhere. It literally appeared from seemingly nowhere, its thin body skidding along the ground as it swung a weapon high. A curved wooden handle with a sharp jutting from the side of the end, a scythe, was swung right at the Locust Beast. It sliced into one of the tubes which began to release more of the gas. The looming figure wasn't done either, it pulled its scarecrow like body upwards using the scythe as leverage and was now on the Locusts' back. It hopped a bit with a sharp, ringing noise vibrating from it.

It began to purposely leak the gas and a fog surrounded it as Two pulled himself back further towards a stack of bricks. There he watched as the being climbed upon the Locust Beast and brought its scythe down on the other tube. It could no longer control its release of the poison and attempted to turn onto its back. The creature attacking it managed to climb its rolling frame and swung the scythe downwards against the side of the Beast's head. It shrieked and went to turn over one last time as the creature swung down at its forehead, lodging its blade inside.

The frail Locust Beast's optics went black and it collapsed as the thin doll climbed down to the ground. For a few seconds it stumbled about to regain its footing and only afterwards looked towards Two. While the Inventor was still stunned by the entire event he could clearly see the being before him, tall and thin, was definitely another Stitchpunk, and was one that he couldn't recognize at all. Absent from all memory or any sketches left behind from the Scientist it was an enigma, unrecognizable by all except for possibly Eight.

This was the Stitchpunk the others had been searching for. Two had found him.

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><p><strong>Mable: Unfortunately I will not be able to post updates on this fic as quickly as with 'Fabric Runs Shallow' because of that fic and because of the request fics I have to finish. So if it takes a week to get another update it isn't because the fanfic is stuck in a writer's block or anything… Or maybe I'm just rambling because I'm a bit nervous. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed!<strong>


	3. Chapter 2: Meeting Moss

**Mable: I got this finished a lot sooner than I expected, especially with 'Fabric Runs Shallow' and the requests looming over me, but somehow it came out right. I don't own 9, but I do own our new Stitchpunk friend, Enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>Without A Sound<strong>_

_Chapter Two: Meeting Moss_

Two slowly forced himself to his feet as he looked to the new Stitchpunk before him. It was finally coming forward with a concerned hand out, staring at the shorter in surprise of the entire scene. Indeed he was much taller than the Inventor was. He looked taller than most of the other Stitchpunks except for Eight and his frame was thin. He was mostly obscured by a surprising amount of clothing for a Stitchpunk and wore a long, patched coat. A ratty scarf was tied neatly around his neck and a wide brimmed hat rested on his head that was the only part that wasn't patched.

His fabric was darker than most Two saw, a deeper burnt tan color, and was graced with two visible patches on the knees. It was a particular area known to wear so they didn't surprise Two. What did surprise him was that underneath the brim of his hat Two could see his face and a pair of wide, concerned optics that stared at him with questioning. Full of surprising gentleness considering the violent approach previously took. He then took the hand that was offered. Two gave his new companion a warm smile of thankfulness and continued to straighten himself.

"Am I glad to see you!" He exclaimed joyously with his relief, looking over to the Locust Beast's remains. "I don't even want to imagine what would have befell if you didn't rescue me." He looked back towards the tall male before glancing down to his hands. He had the normal amount of fingers, long and flexible, but slightly flattened a bit and slightly caked with dirt as though he had been digging through some. "How interesting." Two remarked as he glanced over them briefly before looking to his new ally.

He just barely see past the male's jacket and could see through it that he was closed with a drawstring mechanism. "My name is Two and, believe it or not, I'm actually out here looking for you." He pointed out. The other now had a friendly smile, though didn't say a word. Two was familiar with mutes and, unlike Nine, since he didn't point out that he could speak he assumed that he wasn't meant to. This was fine for him. He briefly turned to bend down and lift his spear, only to straighten to see the new male looking confused.

The tall Stitchpunk tapped over his shoulder in questioning as though questioning Two's number. "Oh yes, that's my '2'. What I am named after." Now he noticed something odd. He had just told the male his name was Two and yet he had seem fully unsure about the number on his back. "Now I am looking for someone. A few others, actually." Two explained and decided to describe Five in particular. "He has a patch," he moved his hand over his left optic, "this eye is gone. He has round buttons on his chest." He made symbols to describe, "This tall."

He showed the height and the taller Stitchpunk nodded in agreement, though still seemed unsure. It was almost as though he was having trouble understanding Two. Before the Inventor could say anything more there was a crackle of thunder from high above. The shorter male was immediately distressed by the sound as he hadn't notice the clouds moving in. He exhaled tiredly, hoping the others were okay before looking to his companion, "Let's get out of the rain." He insisted, pointing upwards at the clouds, to which the other male seemed to understand before nodding.

Two started to turn away, but was stopped by a hand on his arm turning him back around. The male used the tip of the scythe and drew a word in the dirt in front of him which Two read, "Moss?" He looked to the male, gesturing towards him with a smile to which the male nodded. "Alright then, Moss." He agreed with a smile before Moss took his arm one again. The tall male looked around looking somewhat fearful as he checked to make sure there was nothing creeping nearby. Then, with that, he began to lead the smaller male away in a protective fashion.

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><p>The greenhouse was even more brilliant on the inside than the outside. As the group headed into the depths of the thicket along a row of hanging vines they were in awe. Simple things looked more elegant than ever; a bucket of water with green pad growing in it looked unusually elegant, a bush hung thick with pretty berries that were colored like decorations, and the enchanting grove had wowed them all. Even Eight, who usually wasn't too interested in these sort of things, was a bit impressed with their surroundings.<p>

The twins were thrown into a limbo of cataloging. Plucking this, flickering over that, and trying to find leaves and berries that they could carry back to the Library. It was just too much for their Librarian minds to take. One must have also noticed it too as he sent Eight after them to watch them, the Guard following them as they scurried back and forth. Six, meanwhile, became focused on a low hanging berry that was dark black, plucking it and watching the resulting dark purple liquid roll down his pen tipped fingers, alighting as he realized he could use them to draw.

"This is strange." Seven suddenly voiced amid the bed of wonder, looking down at the soft and moist dirt beneath her. "Beautiful, but strange. One is right about someone working on this, but it doesn't make sense why." Five had his own suggestion, "It's so beautiful. Maybe that was why they built it, just to be beautiful?" at that Seven was still skeptic, "It's a possibility, but it seems strange that so much work would be put into this." Maybe this was so, but Nine was suddenly finding himself searching for something, someone, and began to look through the plants.

He assumed that, eventually, he would get answers when he found the Cultivator who had done all of this, or group as One had plainly suggested. This interested Nine incredibly who had always wondered what it would be like if there was more Stitchpunks about. Whether or not One was doubtful, Nine was very interested. While they continued to search around the greenhouse they failed to notice that near the entrance there was others approaching.

Two was in the same surprise as the others were as they approached the greenhouse. "This is marvelous!" He praised as Moss watched him with a smile. He seemed to enjoy Two's reaction as his smile widened and he humbly adjusted his wide-brimmed hat. "How did you manage to grow all of this?" No response, Moss wasn't even looking at him and still was looking towards the ground with a content smile. Two touched his arm to get his attention, which worked well, and pointed towards the greenhouse and him, "This is of your making?"

The tall Stitchpunk nodded eagerly before taking to lead the older male to the greenhouse, over to the hatch that he opened and let Two in. The Inventor was starting to feel the pain in his legs further and it took a few minutes for him to climb in, even with the agriculturist's assistance. By now the Inventor was relying more on his lance than his own legs and the second they started to explore the greenery Moss stopped him. "I'm alright." Two insisted, but went ignored as Moss insistently tried to get the Inventor to sit down on a bottle that was tipped over.

This was the first indication that someone had been in there as well. Moss could see that the makeshift cork was not holding at this angle and a steady flow of burgundy liquid was dripping out. He adjusted the cork until it stopped and studied the puddle beneath it; it was small which meant that the bottle tipped over a short time ago. Two, meanwhile, looked upwards just in time to gasp at a familiar body through the plants. Ignoring his pain he stood and stumbled forward, "Nine!" The zippered male looked over in surprise and soon he noticed others moving in, such as Seven, Five, and One.

"Here we are searching for a tribe of farmers and we come across you." One remarked quickly, in a scolding fashion, "And yet I am not the least bit surprised." Though the buttoned male nearly ran through him, arriving at Two's side, "Two, what- How did you get out here?!" Two smiled and chuckled in amusement, "Just using my secret teleportation skills." Then he honestly answered with, "I came out to find you." One now decided to go into a full scold and reminded, clutching his own staff tightly, "We left you behind because you were injured. A Beast could have found you."

"Funny that you mention that, I actually was ambushed out in the Emptiness." He explained and Five's optic widened. Everyone looked alarmed, perhaps in surprise because they couldn't understand how he would get away. "I was rescued. What a surprise that the same Stitchpunk who rescues me lives at the greenhouse that you all have come to search through." Now Nine blurted out, "So there is another Stitchpunk? Eight was right?" Two nodded eagerly and limped back, "Here, come meet him, he's right over here."

He started to edge over before Five pointed out, "Two, you're limping…" The male waved it off, "I overdid it and I should be sitting to rest." The Leader could be heard grumbling about the comment as Two headed back over to where Moss was. Nine was surprised to see the new Stitchpunk crouching down looking at a puddle of purple fluid. "We didn't even notice you when we came in." Two pointed out as he sat down on the bottle.

At this time Moss stood and turned around only to see the others and pull back just a bit in surprise, briefly holding his scythe firmer before loosening quickly as he realized that they were just other Stitchpunks. He then gave a polite nod as Two introduced them while sitting down, "This is Moss. He rescued me." Nine immediately approached the male with interest, "So you were the one who made all of this?" Moss was silent and Two cleared his voice box, "Moss, our friend here seems to be a bit mute."

He reached out and tapped Moss' arm, the taller male looking towards him now, and Nine and Five looking at each other. It was almost as though the new Stitchpunk had a selective attention span of some kind as he had to be physically touched to actually look towards Two. Two mentioned the greenhouse and pointed around at it dramatically before pointing at Moss. The male smiled, pleased at the reference, and then looked at Nine before giving a court nod and beckoning him, then the others. Obviously he wanted to show off his garden and they were willing to follow.

One called the twins, Six, and Eight over as well to the group while Five stayed behind with Two. Then Moss began some sort of a tour, though Nine found it difficult as the male was still unable to speak, but unlike the twins he refused to deviate from his set path. In one occurrence they stopped at a vine covered in large, round fruits that were in the process of turning green to red. Nine was in awe and naturally asked, "What are these?" One seemed determined to make an assessment, but made three guesses that the twins were certain were inaccurate before giving up.

Moss, though, merely started to walk off halfway through the conversation and started pointing more things out, but to nobody. Luckily for him Six followed along a few seconds later so he had an actual audience. It was around this time that Five wandered up and Nine spoke to him, "Where's Two?" Five gestured back towards the direction of the bottle, "Still resting. He told me to come ahead and he'd follow in a minute." Nine looked back towards the tall, lanky Stitchpunk before looking to Five again, "Do you notice something… Strange about the new Stitchpunk?"

"What do you mean?" The healer asked; he hadn't been around to witness the bizarre behavior so Nine explained, "He just walked off and started to keep showing things to nobody. If Six wouldn't have walked up then he'd be standing there alone." Looking over again, now Moss was fully focused on Six. He was standing at the bush with the small, black berries, something in Nine's memory wanted to say currants, and reaching upwards to grab a small bunch of them to pull down so that Six could pluck them, which he did eagerly.

"He looks fine to me." Five pointed out, "But I'll keep an eye out." He seemed to suddenly realize his own pun and smiled before tapping his remaining optic. Then he crossed over to where Moss and Six were still standing and began to observe. Moss was seemingly acting kindly enough. He was showing Six the berries and watching him closely as the striped one spoke about his drawing. It was at this time that five did notice something in particular though and spoke. "Umm… What plant is this?" He gestured to a random one in the vicinity and received no response. He started to understand what Nine meant.

He continued to observe as the tour continued while Nine observed at a further distance, eventually asking Seven if she noticed, "He is acting strange." Seven agreed with him, "But I don't think I have any right to judge. Not with how strange we are." She pointed out, yet even she was a victim to Moss' odd choices of actions. A few minutes after their conversation, Moss plucked a flower from one of the plants and gave it to her with his same, warm smile. While Seven looked a bit endeared, if not surprisingly bashful by the offering, Nine was growing more confused.

However, he wasn't the only one. One was becoming increasingly frustrated at his questions being unanswered and had gotten to the point of tapping Moss on the shoulder. Moss would love over, stare at him as though struggling, and then would try to assist the Leader. They had now stopped in a further area and were resting as Two caught up to the group guided by Five once again. At this time Nine could actually witness Moss' normal activities as he showed the twins, and the zippered male, one of his various tasks.

First he cut down a large, red sphere from a vine and the sliced it open while they watched. He pointed out a nearby jar for the twins to roll over to him, which they eagerly did. Then he began to harvest the fleshy pulp from the inside and drop it into the jar. Halfway through he started to pluck out seeds and at this point Nine stepped forward and crouched beside him. The tall male seemed to take his approach as interest and took his hand in his own, dropping one of the seeds inside it. The small, yellow pellet was somewhat curious to look at.

"So this," Nine tapped the seed to keep Moss' focus, "will grow into that?" he pointed towards the vine plant before them. Moss looked upwards at it and nodded with a small smile of pride. He was clearly happy with his work; it was almost like when Two and Five would get some accomplished, even when it was a victory like Two being able to walk once again. This eased the tension a bit and Nine felt his own smile begin to bud as he started to understand. Then Moss suddenly got a new idea and stood, helping Nine to his feet as well, and beckoned him before grabbing a handful of the fruit. It dripped with juice.

At this time Moss led Nine some ways away into the greenhouse. They could still see the others from where they were, but the taller was obviously trying to find something. It was then that he noticed a blank patch of dirt and lifted his finger in an 'Ah ha' way. Nine was guided over where Moss kneeled, dropping his scythe, and began to dig a small hole with his flattened fingers. He then instructed Nine to put the seed in with small hand gestures. The zippered male caught on and placed the delicate item into the hole before covering it up with the dirt.

"Like this?" Nine checked and Moss slowly nodded before reaching forward to squeeze the piece of fruit and drip the juice inside onto the buried seed. The taller male pointed to the seed and rose his hand as though suggesting it would grow. It seemed so simple and yet Nine wondered why nothing had grown outside. He knew better than to ask, though, and instead the two stood together and the cultivator led him back to the rest of the group, putting an arm around his in a friendly, guiding way as he grabbed his scythe.

It was at this time that they grouped with the others and Five outright approached Nine, "Can we talk? It's about Moss." Nine slowly looked over towards the taller male before looking back with an amused look. "You know, he's right here." He playfully remarked and Five smiled a little, but seemed distressed, so Nine excused himself. "What is it?" He asked the buttoned male, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Did Two say something?" The Healer nodded, "He did… You were with Moss? How did it go?"

"It was great. He let me plant a seed right over there." He gestured towards the spot before continuing, "I think I may have judged him too quickly. There's nothing wrong with him at all. Sure he's quiet, but he's just as friendly as any Stitchpunk could be." He defended with a warm smile and Five smiled a little too. There was a brief pause of tension before he cleared his voice box, "That's good! I mean, yeah…" He looked towards the ground as Nine furrowed his brows in confusion. Something was off with Five now and he was about to question it when Five beat him to it.

"You do know he's deaf, right?" Nine came to an abrupt stop before looking over, "He… What?" The Healer nodded slowly and the zippered male sputtered, "But- Deaf, doesn't that… Isn't that when someone can't hear?" This seemed a bit too strange and the buttoned male nodded, "Two just told me a few minutes ago. That's why he's acting strange, and probably why he's mute." This seemed beyond Nine's belief. "But he doesn't act deaf." He started, but then actually let the situation sink in.

This explained why Moss didn't react to questions and why his behavior went through odd changes at times. It made all the sense in the end and the male exhaled, "Actually, it makes a lot of sense… But I didn't think that Stitchpunks just went deaf." His friend shrugged. As the closest thing to a medical expert it seemed most likely that he would know, but even he looked stumped by it. "His audio receptors could've broken over time, there could've been an accident, we'll just have to ask him."

Yet even that was a challenge now. Nine realized that he had suddenly acquired a new set of trials with the Stitchpunk they had just met. Whether or not he had wanted one or not.

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><p><strong>Mable: There we have it; a full physical description of Moss, the Cultivator, 'To Supply Us'… Okay, that last part still needs a little bit of work on it, but I am very excited to introduce Moss into the Stitchpunk family! ^-^ I hope everyone enjoyed!<strong>


	4. Chapter 3: Simple Friendliness

**Mable: Here is chapter three! It's a little rushed, but I wanted to get it posted and this was the best place to end it. I don't 9, but I do own Moss, Enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>Without A Sound<strong>_

_Chapter Three: Simple Friendliness _

Moss didn't ever feel lonely. Even though he was quite alone he never felt it. After all he had his plants, he had his work, and he enjoyed doing it. Yet finding Two in the Emptiness was a very interesting experience. Then again, interesting wasn't always good, especially considering his unique problem. Trying to be social around such a language barrier was nearly impossible and led to more than one instance of awkwardness. Especially when he found himself showing plants to nobody in particular multiple times.

Finally he had decided to cling to the younger twins, who always wanted to learn, and continued to show them his plants. He had lost young Six, the striped one, over at the black currant bush already. The other Stitchpunk who had been actively engaged in listening and learning was Nine, but he was currently speaking to his friend, Five. Looking over he could see they were still talking, but Nine looked upset about something, asking questions incessantly. It concerned Moss a bit but he assumed it was something not involving himself and felt wrong barging in.

His optics then changed to stare down at the twins who were now going through a small patch of strawberry plants. They were thrilled by the red berries and Moss felt a small smile stretch across his face before starting to close in. Though he temporarily stopped before looking down at himself. He noted growing grass stains on the patches of his knees and attempted to brush them off. Naturally he would get stains in his line of work and it didn't bother him personally, but he felt the need to make an attempt considering that there were so many other Stitchpunks.

Stitchpunks who seemed to vanish and reappear in other locations constantly. Though that could have been because he couldn't tell where all of them were at all times, since they moved about freely. He understood that they wouldn't be as interested in gardening as he would be but it didn't bother him. Spending one's life weeding and watering, trimming and planting, was a decision that he doubted anyone else would make. At least they were more interested then something like a human would be.

He finished addressing his stains and straightened, still holding his scythe beside him as he entered the strawberry patch alongside the twins. He tapped on the shoulder of the closest one, Three, and watched as the twin jumped a bit in surprise. Moss put his hand up in defense to calm her down in an apologetic motion. Then he reached upwards and grappled a berry with his scythe, pulling down delicately and plucking it for the female. He rested it in her hand before taking a pinch and putting it in his mouth, trying to get her to attempt the same. She did so and was delighted by the tingling in her mouth.

As he expected, smiling a bit, taste was a sense that hadn't been used much by the other Stitchpunks. It wasn't as though they had to eat and the twins seemed to register this, as the free one, Four, was questionably tapping on an empty jar that was prepared for preserves. Moss didn't exactly have the means to explain to them why he did what he did. However, the others were able to speak just fine, and over with the others Two was explaining the situation. He hadn't really wanted to bluntly do so, but with One's growing suspicion it was only necessary.

Now came everyone's unsettled feelings and unsureness where to go from here. "How are we supposed to translate with a death man?!" One was whispered harshly, as though Moss actually could hear, to the others. "It's remarkably easy." Two insisted, "We just have to learn to communicate through gestures." One scoffed, "And I suppose you know sign language?" The Inventor retorted with, "As a matter of fact- I don't." Which took One off guard slightly, which may have been the point. Either way, Nine noticed the Stitchpunk in particular was wandering off.

"Maybe we should go see where he's going." Nine suggested, nudging who he thought was Five. It was only when he felt the Stitchpunk tremble in response that he realized it was actually Six. He nearly told Six that he thought he was speaking to Five, but decided not to in the end as he felt bad for not including the Artist. It was a passing guilt at time how Six didn't get as much social interaction as Five and Nine were now best friends. So instead he just smiled as though he was purposely speaking to Six. The smaller male paused before nodding eagerly.

The two then took off after Moss, Nine briefly glancing at the twins who were now eagerly tasting the berries and piling them into the jar. Moss headed into the back of the greenhouse where a different kind of vine stood. These were wrapped around and hanging off of an old gate that was propped against the glass wall. These vines instead had bunches of what looked like fat berries hanging from them and were a pale green color. Interest overtook Nine as he looked ahead towards Moss and asked, "What are these?"

His arrival caught Moss' attention and the tall male waved before beckoning him along, but he neither heard nor recognized the question at all. Nine felt a sigh escape him and was planning to find another way to ask. However, Six interrupted, "They're grapes!" Nine glanced towards the smiling Stitchpunk who was obviously pleased at his ability to answer the question. "How did you know that?" Nine asked in a bit of surprise and the smaller male clutched his key shyly. "They're…They're used on paintings, and statues, and they make it into wine."

It was still a vague description but Nine grasped it well enough. Six was an Artist and while it seemed like he was lost in his world of drawings he actually did have some information and idea of the outside world. However, it was also situated around art mostly, but it didn't seem to bother him. Now the two continued after Moss who waited for them. When they stood beside him he began to tug down a large bunch of the grapes from the bottom before swinging his scythe upwards. Only have of the bunch was severed free, but it seemed to be what he wanted.

Moss pulled the bunch apart into smaller groups before handing them to Nine. Though Nine was confused again, "I can take more." He insisted, patting his chest and pointing to the rest of the grapes. The taller male had only handed them small bunches, Six's smaller than Nine's, and was planning on carrying the larger bundle himself. He waved it off insistently with his casual smile and started to lug the fruit off. He wasn't exactly struggling, but it wasn't effortless either. Nine just couldn't understand why he was taking the unnecessary burden when someone else was willing to assist.

They headed back to the berry jar, but unfortunately it was being used by the twins. Moss was a little amused by their gathering and said nothing, but trudged off with the grapes. Thankfully it was easy to find another one. Nine was a little surprised that he had so many jars just lying around. Though the male soon showed why as one at a time he diced the grapes, plucking out the small seeds and dropping them in his bag, and then when drop the remains in the jar. He was preserving the fruit in his own method. Needless to say, Nine was fine with helping.

Though halfway through the task they stopped for a break and Nine decided to attempt further communication. Sitting beside the Cultivator male he gestured to the greenhouse wall and gestured outwards as though showing the expanse, "This place? What's the name of this place?" he repeated and the male seemed to noticed that he was asking something. The gestures were enough and Moss drew in the dirt the word 'Babylon'. "Babylon…" Nine repeated before looking to Moss, "What's Babylon?"

This time Moss understood and was ready to answer in his own way. He rested a hand on his mouth briefly as he glanced around before putting a finger up as though saying he had an idea. He moved his hands and arms outwards as though in a vast motion, though depicting an area even larger than his greenhouse. Then he pointed upwards, a splaying motion of his hands followed with his fingers dancing as though he was symbolizing rain. He led the drops down and made hand gestures in a sweeping river way, making an imaginary pattern on the dirt hidden beneath the plants far in front of them.

Nine let his imagination take hold and could imagine swirling pools of water meant to nurture the plants. Moss briefly touched Nine's arm again as though to catch his attention further, an eager smile trying to tug his lips even further as he continued. He then gestured to the plants and made a motion almost like the rain one, a crawling sort of gesture to symbolize growing. He depicted growing plants sprouting around before climbing up the walls. At the ceiling he made dropping motions, as though mimicking hanging plants over the water and other life.

Of course Nine had to decipher and imagine most, but from the way that Moss smiled and moved his hands about so vigorously it was obvious that he was enthralled by the idea. He was, too; everything that Moss had worked for was to rebuild the hanging gardens he admired so much. For a second Nine almost felt that same admiration, but as he looked around at the greenhouse he realized that this was what he saw as being amazing, just as much as the other's ideas. Soon Moss was done and leaned back to stare at his work.

Nine wanted to ask him more, he wanted to know everything, but he was now interrupted by the others approaching. Moss hopped down and hurried over to them to get more Stitchpunks to help. The day loomed onwards after this point and it was around evening time when One started getting antsy. He looked upwards towards the roof of the greenhouse to see the sun plummeting towards the horizon quickly, which reminded him that there was the lingering concern about time.

"While this has been… Adventurous." He suddenly spoke, interrupting the exploration and communication amongst the other Stitchpunks. Moss was currently harvesting more of the grapes with help from the other Stitchpunks. Even Eight seemed willing to assist, but it was more of an excuse to tug at Six's ankle teasingly as he climbed onto the grapevine. Two had tried twice to break the two apart, but Eight was tricky and stubborn, smirking as he would loop around and tug at his leg again.

Nine was up on the vine too dropping down grapes he plucked that the twins would catch and take to Five and Two who would dice the grapes. Seven decided to explore further to search for other bottles and jars. Moss continued cutting down grapes with his scythe. While something so simple the Stitchpunks were enjoying themselves trying something that they hadn't before. Even if Moss wasn't exactly upfront on why he was working so hard to preserve this much. "However, with the lack of covering on the walls we are clearly visible from in here. We should return to the Sanctuary before it gets dark."

The others were of mixed ideals. Eight strode over immediately, Six looked upset but reluctantly did so, and a few of the others simply waited before Two defended. "We stay here." He pointed out and One scoffed, "And lie in the dirt? I'm would say not!" Yet Two insisted, "No, no. He may have a place for us to sleep. Maybe we can get inside that shed outside." He looked over to Moss, "Do you have a sleeping area?" He asked, making weird hand motions in an attempt to explain.

The male struggled to comprehend what he was asking and One again made a scoffing noise, purposely to show his contempt, "You would think that he would be able to read lips." Now Nine defended as he finally dropped down from the fence, "Maybe he has trouble doing so. It's not that easy, especially when our voice comes from voice boxes more than anything. Why don't you write something down?" One perked at this, "Then that is what we shall do." He snapped his fingers as though issuing a command, "Eight, find me a proper piece of paper."

The guard looked around at the greenery before Five spoke, "Here. Use the back of my map." Eight snapped it up and began circling around before Six spoke, "The… The berries." One now interrupted to command Eight to get the berries, which he did, and then brought back. It was simple enough to find them as Six had left a couple of mounds of the lying around as he gathered from various bushes. Now both the paper and berries were dropped before him and he kneeled as One insisted.

"Write exactly what I say; we very much appreciate your hospitality to allow us into such a secluded area and thank you for securing the health of our primary healer and Inventor. It is now time for us to return to our Sanctuary, but before we do some of us have some concerns about taking a trip back." He briefly glared at Two and was planning to continue when Seven cut in, returning to the group, "You've got Six practically writing a book. Why can't he just write down the question?"

One sputtered, "Because we must be respectful and thank this other for bringing us here! Do you have any idea what toxins may have come in on our fabric?" Seven furrowed her brows, "When we came in you barely even knew what a greenhouse was." Nine huffed in exasperation and looked to Six, "Six, compromise?" The Artist nodded in agreement and began to quickly write down a quick note. 'Thank you for letting us stay here. Would you like to come home with us? Do you have somewhere we can sleep here?" Once this was finished he stood and eagerly handed it to Moss who stared at it briefly.

Though it was obvious, again, that Moss was having trouble. He even looked distressed for a split second as he realized that he couldn't understand this communication either. "I thought I did it right…" Six murmured lowly when One abruptly remarked, "He can't read either?! Wonderful! All lines of communication have been vanquished!" Yet again Nine defended, "He can read! He wrote down a word earlier, I just… I don't know. I don't know why he can't read." Two now suggested, "Just because he can write doesn't mean that he doesn't need some sort of lens to read. Like glasses."

"This is absurd." One stated, "We're wasting time with this. Wasting the little bit or daylight that we have left. We need to just dismiss ourselves and leave." With that he fell silent, having spoken his two cents, and the others who were more willing to be patient attempted communications yet again. "What was the word?" Nine paused briefly to remember before speaking, "It was Babylon?" Now Five perked, "Babylon? Like the Hanging Gardens?" Now Nine was perking at his friend's statement, "You know about it?" Both Two and Five nodded, but surprisingly the Healer took his turn to talk.

Usually he would let his mentor speak for him but now he was too eager to speak. "Two and I studied about them a long time ago. They're one of the wonders of the world… But I'm guessing this isn't the real Babylon." He added in, sheepish that he had gotten so wrapped up, and One scoffed, "I would suppose not." The Healer suddenly took the paper, "Here, I think I have an idea." Using Six's finger he guided it to draw an outline. "If he knows about Babylon then he must know something about human built structures, so he probably does know what a Library is."

Two and Nine both perked, but the former was the one who spoke, "Of course! It's so simple, we can't show him words so we can just show him a picture." With this Six decided to take over and started to draw a picture of the Library. Once he was finished he flashed it to Moss with a proud smile. The male pulled back from the paper being shoved into his face, but then looked at it curiously, and smiled at Six before pointing to him and pointing to the greenhouse wall out into the Emptiness.

"Yes, it's out there." One barged in again, trying to translate, "Our Sanctuary." He tapped his chest and pointed out before speaking louder, "We need somewhere to sleep until the sun rises or else we're leaving now." He started to point in various directions and make gestures. Moss just stared and Seven remarked, "One, he's deaf, talking louder won't fix it." However, the taller managed to cling to one gestures; his reference to the sun going down. He nodded and pointed to the sun, the gesturing down like falling, and struck realization.

With a friendly beckoning he seemed to suggest he had a solution. Though he quickly sealed the jar first he led them toward the back of the greenhouse. This was where another small shed, more a wooden cabinet than anything, lingered in the back corner. The twins scurried around his feet and he waded around them as he headed to the side of the cabinet that faced the front of the greenhouse where the dirt was dug out and allowed him to climb down underneath the shed. There hug a rope with knots tied in it, leading upwards into an opening in the shed.

Moss pointed upwards before kneeling down and putting his hand out. Three was daring enough to take it and was soon swept into his arms, somehow dodging the scythe that was now resting propped along his chest. The tall male lifted the twin and started to help her onto the rope which she grabbed onto in surprise. For a few seconds she just hung there; the twins weren't used to having such physical activity randomly appear before them. Yet the older male coaxed her and so she began to slowly climb the rope into the cabinet, Four soon following suite.

He went to help Two as well and the Inventor kindly declined and gestured for Moss to go up first. The Cultivator did so, but was a little uneasy. It made him feel better to help these new Stitchpunks; when he wasn't the silence seemed to gnaw at him because he would be unable to know what they were saying. He was completely in the dark unless he stared at their face and judged emotions, and staring would most likely make them uncomfortable. He rubbed his head underneath his hat wearily and mentally noted that he could easily get them settled and then catch up on work.

In fact, that was exactly what he was going to do, but first he needed to show them around his home within his garden. Perhaps it would be as easy as it sounded; Moss liked staying blissfully unaware.

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><p><strong>Mable: The next chapter will be posted as soon as I can get it finished! I hope everyone enjoyed!<strong>


	5. Chapter 4: Staying Over

**Mable: I have been so pulled back. This doesn't make sense! I'm honestly not sure how I got so behind so quickly! I'm going to definitely get my act together before Christmas but… But until then, here's this. I hope this is enough. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>Without A Sound<strong>_

_Chapter Four: Staying Over_

As One climbed inside, assisted somewhat by Eight who was able to hoist the full grown Stitchpunk easier than Moss himself was able to lift one of the younger dolls. The tall one mentally wondered to himself if the larger would be willing to help him move some heavy items around. Before he could even get to a decision to ask or not he did a double take as he noticed out of the corner of his optic the twins nearly knocking over some of his tools. They hadn't meant to, naturally, and while he lunged forward they beat him to catching the tools and propping them up.

Though one of the ended up getting dried dirt flakes on her hood which he neatly brushed off in thankfulness. From the way she seemed to jump at his touches he could tell that she wasn't too familiar with being touched by a stranger. Part of him noted that he needed to stop, but the other part was afraid to. His communication touches were all that he had to use. "It's… quaint." One muttered in a way that showed he wasn't exactly pleased with the area. Moss noticed his somewhat scrutinizing gaze and shrugged it off.

He was dressed like a mixture of a priest and a king; being in a shed of recently used tools probably didn't suite him. Instead Moss decided to attempt showing those who were interested, such as Nine who had just managed to climb up. He waved to him until he caught his attention and pointed to a Stitchpunk sized crate in the corner. The zippered one headed over with him to see what he wanted to show. "Papers?" He questioned to himself as he peered inside, but as he moved one he realized different, "Packets?"

They were lined up in little rows and stuffed into the box. As he took one out he heard it make a soft rattling noise, "Oh, they're seeds! You've collected all of these." He glanced at the front of the package and quickly reading, "Karotte?" he asked in confusion, but shrugged it off as another vegetable or fruit he didn't know about. Moss enjoyed his interest and only pulled away to help pull more of the others inside. Unfortunately most of the others were seemingly bracing themselves for rest and were no longer as eager to explore, except Two and Nine of course.

Though as Five chased Two around trying to get him to rest his legs, or Moss assumed that from his observation, he realized that they probably were weary. Especially Two himself after that run in with the Beast. While Moss felt slightly uncomfortable doing so he stepped forward and took Two's arm to coax him along. Two smiled to the male and asked a question that Moss assumed was asking where he was taking him. In response the taller being gestured to some nearby small stairs and climbed into the second floor.

The second floor had a few more items in it; a small table and chair, some dried grapes in a large sack in the corner, a black feather nailed to the wall, and a few sacks stuffed into the corner. There were also more stairs, but Two didn't think it was needed to intrude deeper. Already with this room having les in it he knew that they could simply sleep on the floor. It wouldn't be terribly comfortable, but it was enough for him. "Five, come along." He called down the steps to Five who was waiting halfway up them to see if he could follow.

Somehow the others got the message that they needed to follow as well and started up as well. Except for Eight who soon got the short end of the stick as One instructed him, "Stay down here and wait by the exit. If anything starts to come in then warn us." The Guard naturally let his mind wander to his magnet until One added in, "And keep a clear head. We wouldn't want another Seamstress accident, would we?" While Eight didn't answer, he did grumble to himself a little as the older male continued up the steps. Naturally everyone thought that he had been magnet high and that was why he was attacked.

Unfortunately, he had been magnet high, but not using long enough that he was actually intoxicated. Yet now it was another reason One had to ban the magnet and at this point he wasn't really sure if he could do so or not. He decided to forgo his need for the time being and merely leaned back against the wall and relaxed into a decent rest. Up on the second floor Moss started handing out sacks to use as blankets. Five pulled out a needle and thread to stitch two of them together before handing it to Four, "Could you take this down to Eight?" The small twin smiled before running off to do so, her twin following.

It was while they were setting up beds on the floor out of the limited cloth that Moss decided to take his leave. He was still contemplating going out at some point to work further so it was best to get his rest while he still could. Knocking on the wall to signal his leaving he waved to Five and Two before heading up the stairs and leaving. It wasn't until he was nearly gone that Nine noticed him leaving and started after him, "Oh, wait!" He called, though naturally didn't get any response, and exhaled, "I was going to thank him."

"Yes, thank him for putting us on the floor." One remarked and Seven raised a brow, "One, you've put us on the floor before." The leader seemed to pause before murmuring something under his breath that she decided to ignore, "It's not like he's asleep. Go and talk to him." She insisted and he paused before shrugging it off, "I don't want to bother him. I'll just tell him in the morning." He began to spread some of the bags along the floor, "The twins can sleep here. It feels a little warmer." Though while Nine was willing to wave off confronting Moss, someone else decided to take his place.

Six wasn't one to be very social as he wasn't completely sure how to be social. However, there was a mixed blessing with Moss being deaf, as Six didn't end up having to speak. This being his usual downfall in his existence, how he rambled and murmured about his dreams and how others saw such words as a confession to insanity. Six knew he wasn't entirely insane though. He was just awkward and uncomfortable, but he wasn't insane, he knew what he was saying and he knew the logic in it. Unfortunately this had left an imprint on the others and now it seemed that not one of the others took him seriously.

They believed his visions, but that was it. Everything else was usually obscured by 'Six nonsense'; he knew he wasn't being paranoid either. They thought he was amusing, they thought he was cute, they thought he was annoying, but they didn't seem to think of him as a real Stitchpunk. Except for perhaps Five and Two, but they also seemed to be a bit more overprotective with him than they would with the others. Though he had to admit that Nine's inclusion today had been both odd and strikingly enjoyable. He had felt not like a third wheel but like an actual companion.

Maybe if he could start off on a different foot with Moss then he would have someone who didn't think of him like a freak. As he entered the top room he could see that it was about the same size as the one a floor below it while looking nothing like it. Nails jutted out of the wall on one side and held a pair of unused gloves, Moss' scarf, and his hat. Moss stood on the other side of the room beside a tacked up hammock that apparently was his bed. He was pulling off his long coat and noticed Six in the room, from him being in the corner of his view.

Six waved shyly and tried to figure out how to thank him. Yet he couldn't, he couldn't speak or anything, so instead he just smiled to him and started to come forward almost cautiously. Then, suddenly, he came forward and embraced the taller quickly. Just an innocent gesture, he had done it with Five and Two numerous times in the past. Moss gasped a little in surprise, but then smiled in response and rubbed over Six's back to reassure him that he understood the gesture. Six soon pulled back with his continued smile before waving and hurrying back downstairs.

He was gone before Moss could stop him to attempt to persuade him to stay. Part of him didn't want to be alone if he didn't have to. Either way he turned over to the small candle in the corner and prepared to blow it out. However, he paused beforehand, and then soon found himself instead moving over to the corner where to where two somewhat small jars rested. They were filled with more of the preserves and he dragged one of them over in front of the hammock before sitting down on it. He unscrewed the lid and lifted it, the smell of crushed raspberries filling his scent receptors.

Moss dipped a finger into the fruity paste and scooped out a bit that he then put into his mouth, savoring the flavor. A second of pleasure passed before suddenly he scooped another bit of the paste onto his finger before tasting more. Naturally it didn't go anywhere because he lacked a throat, but the pleasure was still there. He suddenly scooped more into his mouth, more and more, taste after taste being shoved into his mouth, portion after portion, until he suddenly got control of himself. He realized what he was doing and stopped himself.

He was quick to cover up the incident and shoved the jar back into the cover, ignoring the twisting in his belly that seemed to seek the substance that he couldn't actually devour. Moss reminded himself to gain control and instead blew out the candle before sitting down on the hammock which swayed underneath him. Light still filtered from the floor before through the stairwell and occasional cracks in the floor. There was probably noise as well, but Moss didn't have to worry about it, and collapsed fully onto the hammock, body relaxing and a leg dangling off, before pulling his coat over him.

He let his optics close and quickly he drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>It had only been thirty minutes since the candle died and all of the Stitchpunks had attempted to go to sleep. Two was curled to himself beside the bag of raisins and had already rolled over twice trying to get comfortable. Part of him wondered if it would have just been better if he slept out in the plant beds. He rolled over again and suddenly realized that he had shifted and was now pressing into a Stitchpunk's back. If he had remembered right, it with Five, so instead of drawing back he pressed further in and moved to put an arm around him.<p>

Five seemed incredibly shy, but he enjoyed physical affection, whether it was a small hug or just a handshake. As his mentor and basically father figure Two knew he had to supply this so he doubted that the buttoned one would mind any. As he wrapped his arm around the male he realized that there was something strange about his covering. He had sworn that Five took one of the bags to cover himself with, but this felt like a piece of cloth, but he deduced that the Healer must have found something else to wrap in.

He was also laying strangely. Two had shared a bed with Five in the past whether it be out of dread, out of the sanctuary being could, or mostly out of sheer convenience. Five never seemed to sleep this rigid and pulled into himself, it was almost as though he was cold or uncomfortable, but Five shouldn't have been uncomfortable as his touch. He let his forehead press against his back and now he was rewarded with the scent of some sort of cologne. He remembered that the twins had found a bottle of cologne a while back that had smelled a bit strong.

Though it seemed to smell a bit better when applied to fabric. Two didn't expect Five to be wearing the cologne. He hadn't seemed interested, like most of the others, and only a few seemed remotely even wanting to keep it. It didn't make much sense, especially with the cloth blanket over him, and with the rigid way he laid as though he was not used to being touched.

Unless, of course, it was One.

Two's optics shot open and he suppressed an alarmed gasp to instead flinch a bit. Of course this wasn't Five; somehow he had just bluntly clung onto One in his attempt to get comfortable. That wasn't all; from the way the other male was so still and breathing very slightly he could only assume that One was awake and just as horrified as he was. _"Don't panic." _He mentally assured, scrambling for a solution as he laid there. "_Just… Just roll over slowly and maybe he'll think I'm still asleep." _With that he cautiously began to turn over and soon laid on his side.

His back was still brushing One's, but at least he had moved away, and he hoped that the Leader would just ignore it and go back to sleep. A few seconds passed before the Leader suddenly sat upwards and Two exhaled in relief as he realized, _"He must feel uncomfortable and be getting up to leave. Good… Worst case scenario he calls me out on it tomorrow when we're in private, but it's not as though he will admit it in front of the others." _However, then the Leader did something that Two hadn't expected even for a second. He suddenly laid down facing him.

Two couldn't figure out if this was some sort of test or not. However, before he could even try, One suddenly reached an arm around his middle and pulled him close to him. The Inventor suppressed any sort of noise, but his optics were wide in the darkness as the other male held him. _"He's going to feel my pulse racing." _He reminded himself as he attempted to calm down a little bit, _"What is he… Is he doing this in his sleep? It must be." _Either way, Two was securely stuck, and yet he didn't mind too much. He suddenly realized that this position was a bit more warm and that he enjoyed it a bit too much.

One and Two's relationship was standard. Two respected One as a Leader though thought he was too rash, One respected Two as an Inventor though thought he was too childish. Yet Two would be lying if he didn't say that his admiration for the Leader didn't run a bit deeper than that. In fact, in was there since they were newborns, attempting to survive the Emptiness. Now being held like this brought a sense of security that he hadn't realized he ever wanted and he closed his optics and let himself slip away into slumber.

* * *

><p>Moss awoke when it was still dark out. He could tell from the lack of sunlight shining through the cracks in the wall. He slowly sat upwards until he was comfortably balanced on his hammock before slowly climbing out of it. He tugged on his jacket before heading over to put on his hat and tuck his scarf in around his neck securely. He grabbed his scythe, which was the only tool that he would bring into his room with him, and lifted it off the nails it was resting on. Then he headed downstairs to begin his day.<p>

It was amusing how the others were all just lying around the floor, though Moss felt a little bad. He wished that he could give them more and yet knew he couldn't. He continued on to the first floor where Eight was asleep by the door. Moss immediately perked at noticing him and decided to creep over before attempting to rouse him with a light shake on the arm. The Guard woke quickly, looking around as though he was preparing to fight. The Cultivator put up a hand to signal it was just him and gave a reassuring smile before gesturing to the entrance.

"What?" Eight asked before looking to him, "Something's out there?" Moss seemed to register what he was asking and shook his head before pointing to Eight, to himself, and to the entrance. The Guard blinked before repeating the gesture, "You… Am I going with you or something?" The thin one nodded eagerly and continued to smile in a friendly way. Naturally Eight was exhausted and wasn't exactly jumping to get up. "I'm good." He waved off before leaning back against the wall. But Moss didn't leave. He didn't understand the larger so he just stood there and waited.

Unknowing whether he was purposely manipulating him or whether he was genuinely waiting, Eight finally exhaled and stood, "A few minutes. But only because I've got to make sure nothing's out there." Really he was starting to feel the usual urge for the magnet and knew that if he didn't use some to take the edge off that he would be feeling it sooner than later. He hoisted himself up and headed over to the entrance after Moss who hopped down into the darkness of the early morning. Moss landed onto the soft, cold dirt and felt his spirit alight.

It was time to go back to work.

* * *

><p><strong>Mable: The next chapter will be posted as soon as I can write it! As for Fabric Runs Shallow… I'm aiming for tomorrow, maybe, but for now I need to go to bed. I hope everyone enjoyed!<strong>


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